being average is hard

New York Cheesecake with Chocolate “Ganache”

I’m no longer in Sweden and that is the perfect excuse to avoid writing material for this blog. I was busy, not procrastinating like anyone would (*cough*correctly*cough*) assume.

The point is, during my last two months in Sweden I decided to fulfill one of my adolescent dreams of learning how to make cheesecake, simply because I can’t expect my mom’s friend to bake them for me every time. One incredibly satisfying – shockingly easy online recipe later I had in my hands one-and-a-half cheesecakes with blueberry jam smeared all over it.

The recipe was tested by my roommate who immediately deemed me one of the best house guests so I suppose it works. I whipped up this cheesecake recipe two more times in Sweden and fed it to Sabrina – my baker in crime – and the other roommate, but with a layer of what-could-be chocolate ganache on the simple technicality of me following the correct instructions.

The thing is…

The thing is.

Now that I’m in India, some of the ingredients are relatively harder to get by and incredibly expensive compared to those in Western countries – which makes sense, since cream cheese is not a mass consumed dietary requirement. But with that comes new problems – well . One problem, the sour cream specifically – that needed to be DIY-ed in advance for this New York cheesecake to work.

There’s also the fact that I am now operating on a slightly less stable oven, but we’ll get to that in later posts.

For now, below is the recipe for my version of a New York Cheesecake that I took from thisvideo (this is the ASMR counterpart of the original video and honestly? You’re welcome) and a chocolate ganache recipe.

So it looks different than what is instructed but darn it if its not still amazing

She’s trying to be classy but let her be okay?

Also the sour cream thing was fixed by making my own. So the recipe for that is given as well.

Prep time: 30 minutesBaking time: It’s gonna take a day. I’m just- I’m being honest here okay? There’s a lot of Waiting-For-Things-To-Cool and we don’t wanna rush that to compromise q u a l i t yFeeds: Uh. One incredibly motivated Swede can finish it in 4 days.Nutritional value: Listen- no, seriously liste- do we even need this anymore? We all know no one comes on here for nutrition who are we kidding

EQUIPMENT:

Baking pan: circular, 18 cm diameter – or its other geometric counterparts of similar dimensions

Baking paper

Bowl(s)

Whisks, spoons, other cutlery

More spoons to lick cream cheese frosting

Home-made sour cream

INGREDIENTS:

For roughly 200 g of sour cream

120 ml heavy cream

30 ml milk

1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar

STEPS:

First of all prep this 24 hours in advance

In a jar add your cream and lemon juice and mix well. Then pour in the milk, close the lid of the jar and shake well.

Remove the lid, put a piece of kitchen towel or cloth over the jar and seal it with a rubber band securely. Then, leave it on the counter overnight or for 24 hours.

That’s it. Done.

The chocolate ganache

INGREDIENTS:

150 g dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa, depending on your preference)

150 ml heavy cream. Ensure the quantity of the chocolate and cream is more or less the same.

STEPS:

While you’re waiting for – frankly, the entire day for this cheesecake to be done – here’s how you can waste you’re time!

In a pan, pour your cream and heat it until its just about to boil.

In a medium bowl, put your bits of chocolate in and pour the cream over it.

Whisk until well combined and smooth, then set aside. Some people add rum to this or even whisk it further to make a sort-of frosting, but I chose to leave it as it is.

Line the sides of the baking dish with baking paper (use butter for it to stick)

Crush the biscuits in a bowl with your hands or in a mixer until it has completely crumbled

Add the melted butter into the bowl and mix until it resembles a cheesecake base

Pour the crumbly base mixture into the baking pan and spread lightly. Once fully spread, very gently push the mixture so that it covers the entire base area evenly. Do not press hard, or else your cheesecake base will be nearly impossible to cut. Keep it crumbly if you prefer, but not too compact.

Pop it in the fridge for about 30 mins

In a large bowl, add the cream cheese and whisk until it is… less hard. Good news, you don’t need an electric mixer for anything in this recipe, only a regular whisk and perseverance (((((((:

Add in the sugar and mix until well combined. Then add the sour cream and whisk so that the mixture has some level of viscosity.

Pour in your heavy cream and repeat step 8, then add your 2 whole eggs and repeat step 8 again. Then add the vanilla and corn flour and repeat step 8 again. See? There’s not much to cheesecake other than the Mixing of Things.

Also protip: If you do not have corn flour – as I did not when I first made it – use some of the leftover cheesecake base and it will give you pretty much the same effect.

Lastly, add the lemon/lime juice for a bit of tang and – after repeating step 8 for the millionth time – pour the thick, fluid-like batter into the baking pan that you just got out of the fridge Right Now In This Moment. Do it.

Leave it to rest for about 10 minutes before pouring boiling water on the tray to ensure the cheesecake is evenly baked.

Pop it into the oven and crank the temperature up to 180°C for about 30-40 minutes.

Then, reduce the temperature back to 150°C and let it bake for another 30 minutes. You will notice the top of the cheesecake browning, which is good. Let her do her thing.

After the 30 minutes are up, switch off the oven but leave the cake in for another hour before pulling it out and letting it rest until it reaches room temperature, which usually takes longer so. Just FYI.

Your cheesecake is essentially ready, and if you wish to skip the chocolate ganache part, well. It’s still perfectly edible – quite delicious actually. Add your preferred toppings and either serve or cool it in the fridge some. Your choice.